


A Magic All its Own

by Decisions_Decisions



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fog, Gloomy island in the middle of nowhere, He has legs when he wants them, M/M, Merlock, Non-Consensual Kissing, Siren Sherlock, Teenlock, just kissing, nothing else
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-12 12:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4479386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Decisions_Decisions/pseuds/Decisions_Decisions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After John was in an accident that took more than just the use of his leg and shoulder from him his Mum moved what remained of their to the House Grandma Trudy left them in her will. She always told him that Doyle Island was more than meets the eye and John learns the truth of that on his first day there. Now he needs to unravel the mystery of the creature that snared him with it's song or risk losing himself to it forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moving House

John Watson leaned against the metal railing of the small ferry letting the thick scent of salt water roll over him. He shivered slightly against the cold his short blonde hair and his thick oatmeal jumper covered with a fine spray. His cane was propped up beside him, a constant reminder of what he’d lost, and part of him wanted to chuck it into the water. He narrowed his eyes trying focus on a thin strip of grey rock and white fog that rose out of the ocean. It had gotten much larger in the short time he’d been looking, the dense fog making it blend into the horizon and seem farther away than it really was. He felt his lips twist down into a frown as more and more of the island was revealed as they closed in on it. It looked exactly the way Grandma Trudy had described it in her letters.

From what he’d heard from her Doyle Island wasn’t an ideal place to live. It was cold and bleak even in its hottest months. Its shores were formed by grey rocks that jutted out of the ocean like the teeth and bones of a long dead beast. The shore wasn’t sand just grey pebbles beaten down by the relentless white spray of breaking waves. The whole of the island was grey from the fog that lingered over it most days, to the ocean that surrounded it, to the small town nestled against its northernmost shore right where the water met rock. Grandma Trudy was fond of saying that Doyle Island had a magic all its own, but John really doubted that.

Honestly it made sense that his Mum would move them into the middle of nowhere after what happened, but did it have to be this far from civilization? His fingers tightened on the rails as his Mum walked up beside him resting her hand on his right shoulder.

“You’ve been standing out here a long time John; you should go and sit down. The Doctor said you have to take it easy or you could exacerbate your injuries.” She asked looking at him with concerned eyes that were almost the exact shade of blue as his.

“I’m fine. It’s not even that bad right now.” John said absentmindedly rubbing at his bad shoulder. “I’ll go and sit down later.”

She looked over at the car sitting by itself as they were the only people on the ferry. “I still think you should go and sit in the car now. The cold can’t be good for you and I don’t want you getting sick.”

Harry walked over to them and rolled her eyes. “Mum this is like the sixth time you’ve asked him to go and sit down and we’ve only been on this stupid thing for half an hour. John is fine! He’s not going to fall overboard, he’s not going to pass out or die the instant you look away, and he’s not going to spend the rest of his life on his arse! If he needs to sit down he’s got a key so if he’s still standing here obviously he’s fine!”

“Harry! Go back to the car!” Their mother snapped before the fight drained out of her. “Things are different now. You know how hard this has been for him.”

“It’s been hard on all of us not just John and you are making it worse.” Harry snapped back her eyes narrowed. “The last thing John needs right now is you coddling him all the time. If he wants to stand and look at the water let him stand there and look at the water! He needs his space he was just fine on his own!”

John picked up his cane and limped to the car shutting out the argument when he shut the door. He pulled his phone out of his pocket trying to curb his boredom some as he played a card game regretting his decision to put his headphones in a box when he packed. Music that wasn’t his Mum’s favorite oldies station would have been great, considering he could still hear his Mum and Harry go at it through the door. He wasn’t sure when he drifted off but he knew he had when he woke up with a yawn and they were driving through Doyle. He looked out the window expecting it to be as bleak and grey as the island looked from a distance. In some ways it was as every building was made with the same aged grey wood but that didn’t mean it was completely colourless. There was a bright violet sign above Mrs. Hudson’s Bakery and a bright yellow sign for The Hooper Florist Shop that stood out like a lightning bolt in the dark. The people they passed seemed normal just going on about their daily lives wearing bright jackets and colourful trousers as though to ward of the lack of colour around them. 

Some people stopped and waved as they saw the car drive down the street and John ducked back into his phone too embarrassed to wave back. Harry waved back and made faces at the people they passed by to their Mum’s amusement. John rolled his eyes at Harry’s shenanigans, but smiled and even laughed when she managed to get some of the younger kids to make faces back. It didn’t take long to drive through the town and soon they arrived at the isolated little house where they’d be living now. Harry ran out of the car to claim her room and John followed her struggling up four very unnecessary steps onto a wraparound porch. The front room was a nice ocean blue and bright white that far more welcoming than the grey world on the other side of the door. For the moment John ignored it in favor of finding his room. He walked past the kitchen done in friendly shades of yellow and violet and found his room. 

It was already furnished as the movers had taken care of it and his bed was even made. The nightstand was sitting by the bed and most everything else was piled in boxes on the floor. John maneuvered his way through the cardboard deathtrap and sat down on the bed leaning back with a yawn. He closed his eyes and drifted off a bit until he was awoken by loud footfalls that got closer and closer to his door.

“I know we just got here but Mum says we’ve got to go John!” Harry shouted barging into his room. “Mum says we have to go to the bakery so she can meet her new boss. She’s going to let us explore the town and she’s even letting me drive the car.”

“You mean she’s going to let you go exploring. She won’t let me out of her sight for more than a minute.” John said turning over so that he didn’t have to look at Harry.

She scoffed flopping herself down at the foot of the bed. “She’s just worried. She’ll be over it in a couple of months once she realizes that this is a boring arse town where even I will be able to stay out of trouble. In the meantime you could probably convince her to get you that dog you’ve always wanted. It might even help her loosen up a bit if she thinks you’ve got a big scary dog protecting you.” Harry curled her hands into claws and let out a horrible imitation of a menacing growl. 

John sighed and shook his head. “She won’t loosen up she’ll be petrified that the dog will kill me in my sleep.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but you’ll never know unless you ask her. If she feints then we’ll know that the dog is a bad idea.” Harry said with a shrug of her shoulders as she sat up. “Now let’s get going I want to get this over with and she’s not leaving without us.”

“You mean she’s not leaving without me.” John groaned even as he sat up.

“Same thing now let’s go!” Harry said her voice twisting the last word into a wobbling whine. 

She walked over to John and pulled him up by his good arm. She handed him his cane and with a wicked smile shouted. “First one to the car gets the front seat!”

She ran out the door and with a roll of his eyes John followed her at an easier pace. Harry was already sitting in the front seat by the time he got there and she waved at him cheekily. He rolled his eyes and got in the back seat. His Mum checked to see if everyone was buckled in and they drove into the town. They parked outside of the bakery and their Mum handed Harry the keys. “Drive safe Harry, John is going to stay with me. I’ll call you when the interview is over.”

John sighed but didn’t argue with her as he gave Harry the ‘I told you so’ face. She rolled her eyes and drove off leaving them standing outside the shop. The two of them opened the glass door and entered the shop with the ringing of a little bell to announce their arrival. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted over them with the scent of freshly made sweets. There was a glass display case filled with pies, cakes, biscuits, and treats of every kind. An older woman stood behind the display putting the finishing touches on a batch of lavender biscuits.

“Hello there, give me a moment and I’ll be right with you.” The woman said sprinkling crushed lavender petals over the tray.

John’s mum walked over to her. “I’m Jane Watson. I’m here to see Martha Hudson about the secretary position.”

“Jane!” The woman said perking up with a friendly smile. “Trudy told me so much about you. I’ll just put these away and call Mary to watch the front. Then we can have our interview. I’m sure you’ll get the job though, Trudy always said you were a hard worker.” 

She walked to a door that led to the back of the building. “Mary, can you watch the front for me?”

“Yes Mrs. Hudson.” A girl called from the back.

Mrs. Hudson wiped off her hands with her apron and walked over to them shaking Jane’s hand with a bright smile. She looked over at John. “Is that John. Trudy told me all about him and Harriet. Is she not here?”

“Well Harry was here but she’s out exploring the town.” His Jane said smiling back.

“And John isn’t?”Mrs. Hudson said something in her tone sounding disapproving.

“He was in an accident with his father, he still hasn’t recovered yet. I don’t want him getting hurt; he’s been through so much already.” She said looking at John like he could vanish at any moment.

“You should let him go Doyle’s a safe town. Nothing bad ever happens here. He doesn’t need to hang out here with nothing to do but listen to us chatting. If he’s anything like Hamish he will be bored stiff and it won’t even take two minutes. Oh and speaking of Hamish, Here.” Mrs. Hudson said with a wink as she pressed something cold and metal into his hands. 

“I have a feeling you might need this, it was your grandfathers. Trudy lent it to me ages ago and I never remembered to give it back, but I’m giving it to you. Now go out and explore some, you might find something interesting.” Mrs. Hudson said with a smile as she turned back to his Mum. 

She removed her hands to reveal a sturdy pocket knife that was a bright cherry red. It glimmered in the light from small scratches all over its surface and John’s eyes took in every detail of it reverently. His fingers traced over the scratches on the metal before he put it in his pocket. “Thank you Mrs. Hudson.”

He looked over at his Mum. “Can I go now?”

Jane looked at John and Mrs. Hudson and back to John again. Then she let out a resigned sigh. “Alright, but call me the instant anything happens or if you start to get tired. Remember to rest your leg and don’t push yourself too hard. Are we clear?”

“Yes, I’ll call you if anything happens and I’ll rest my leg.” John said making his way out the door before she could change her mind. 

He sighed when he stepped out into the cool air relieved to be out by himself for the first time he could remember. He wondered where he should go when something caught his ear. It was like a sour note on a violin and it struck a chord in John. He turned toward the sound and followed it without even the slightest thought that he shouldn’t. He walked losing himself to the sound that grew more and more discordant the more he listened to it. It rose and fell and he stumbled along to the tune his heart rising and falling with it. It felt like he was floating, or maybe he was sinking, all he knew was that he had to follow it. He only came back to himself when he found himself standing over a hole dug into the beach staring down into a pair of bright gleaming crystal blue eyes. Something visceral twisted in his gut as the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood on end. 

“Don’t go, help me.” The surprisingly deep voice resonated through him lighting up his nerves like a bolt of lightning.

The creature, for John knew somewhere deep down where the creatures influence couldn’t reach that this thing was no human, hummed and sang. The song twisted and curled around him vibrating through his bones and burning beneath his skin. It relaxed him and moved him along its masters will like a puppet. He knelt down and reached his arm down into the hole his eyes dazed. The creature grabbed his hand and sang again and John lifted him out of the hole unable to stop himself even as his body screamed with the strain. He pulled and kept pulling until the creature, which looked surprisingly like an ordinary boy was back on solid ground.

He fell back tears pooling in his eyes as his body shook with pain. The creature opened his mouth the song singing just deep enough to force John onto his feet. John complied unable to stop himself even as his leg burned and throbbed with pain. The creature grabbed him and pulled him forward pressing shockingly wet lips against his own. He gasped and tried to pull back but found himself to be trapped as the creature took advantage of his open mouth to breath something that wasn’t quite air into his lungs as he hummed his song. He forced John’s mouth open and kept up a steady stream of breath until John felt his eyelids flutter. His knees gave out on him and he fell on his back to the rocky shore.

The creature leaned over him taking in his glazed eyes with a kind of smug satisfaction. John glared at it as best he could but the creature ignored his anger to put one last surprisingly gentle press to his lips. John tried to stay awake as the creature turned and ran off, but he was unable to stave off the darkness for long. The last thing he heard before he lost awareness was the footfalls of the creature followed by a loud splash.


	2. A Dangerous Game

The feeling of something digging into his back slowly drove John back into consciousness. He blinked away the darkness to see a hazy overcast sky above him. He felt strange, disconnected almost, like his body was a far off thing. The world around him was fuzzy and muted and he wasn’t sure if it was just his vision or the ever present fog and gloomy clouds that covered the island, or the creature. Its singing still echoed around in his head and he could almost feel the haunting melody chasing away his thoughts before he could even begin to arrange them into something solid.

He shivered as the rolling grey clouds overhead began to sprinkle sending tiny drops of rain down to splash over his skin. He groaned trying to cover his face but little shockwaves of pain danced dully up and down his spine and his arms fell to his sides as he scowled at the sky. He winced as his whole body protested even as he tried to sit up. However it seemed keen on reminding him that he’d just spent a while lying down on rocks without any padding. He hissed as his attempt at moving just put more pressure on his spine and sent sparks though his shoulder and his leg. He didn’t fall back even though he wanted to and though it took much longer than he liked he managed to sit himself up.

He sat breathing heavily as every cell in his body seemed determined to remind him that he was in pain. He heard a rock skittering behind him and he tried turning his head to see if it was the creature. His neck strained against the movement and his head pounded as it dug into the pebbles. His heart skipped a beat in his chest as his breath caught in his throat.

“Are you okay?” The voice was soft and feminine and he felt the thunderous beating of his heart calm almost instantly. It wasn’t the creature, it was just a girl.

“You look like you might have hit your head.” The girl said kneeling in front of him, her brown hair spilling over her shoulders. 

“I think you might be right.” John rasped feeling like he’d just tried to drink a cup full of coarse sand. He touched his throat and swallowed against the pain with a cringe. “You wouldn’t have happened to see a cane anywhere around here would you?”

“I think I might have seen something down by the water let me check.” She said getting up her rain boots squeaking against the rocks. He watched her, her yellow raincoat making her easy to see, keeping an eye out for whatever it was that had attacked him earlier. The song grew stronger in his mind taking on a sour tone and he got the distinct impression that the creature wasn’t happy with him. She knelt down and picked up his cane running over to bring it to him with a gleeful shout. “I found it.”

She held it out to him and he grabbed it resting it over his legs. His face flushed as he looked down too embarrassed to make eye contact with her. “Yes. Thank you.”

He stopped looking up at her with an apologetic smile. “I’m John, John Watson and I’d really like to know who it is I’m supposed to thank.” 

“I’m Sarah Sawyer, do you need a hand?” She laughed as she reached down for him.

“I think I could use one, yeah.” He said taking her hand and together they managed to pull him to his feet. He planted his cane on the beach and leaned on it so he wouldn’t fall down again. John relaxed as much as he could his body still aching but he put on a smile for Sarah. “Thank you for helping me.”

“It was no trouble.” Sarah said brushing it off like she really meant that it wasn’t any trouble at all. “Are you new to the island?”

John nodded looking into her eyes now that the embarrassment had faded, some part of him that had still been afraid relaxing at the sight of very human brown eyes looking back at him. “I am, my family just moved here today.”

“Well word to the wise you should stay away from the beach and definitely don’t go into the water. It gets pretty dangerous; most of us don’t even come down here, people have gone missing. Some people even say that the water has secrets.” Her voice took on a conspiratorial whisper but the weight was ruined by her lips curling into a small smile.

“You’re down here.” John stated looking less than impressed by her warning, though he was more concerned than he let on.

“I come here all the time, my dad’s a fisherman. He taught me how to be safe, but most people won’t chance it.” She stopped for a moment and gave him a sideways glance running her fingers through her hair fretfully. “Why are you out here?” 

John shrugged his right shoulder, his left too stiff from lying on the ground to move. “I thought I heard someone singing.”

The smile on Sarah’s face fell and she took a step away from John. She looked scared, but not for herself, and the panic-stricken look on her face made it seem as though she knew that something horrible was about to happen to him. “I think I should go now. My family’s probably starting to worry.”

“Is something wrong?” John asked reaching toward her.

“No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just getting late and I need to go home.” Sarah said a little too quickly as she flinched away from him.

He let his hand drop feeling like his chest was beginning to freeze from the inside out. She started walking away, but before she got too far she turned around biting her lip nervously. She looked at him with the same kind of pitying look someone might give a dog at a shelter that they couldn’t help. “Look I think you should stay away from the water.”

“Is there something wrong with it?” John asked his voice sounding cold and robotic as the song swirling in his mind made its presence known again. It thrummed through his veins and curled around his spine as the frozen feeling in his heart grew more intense. He already knew the answer, she wasn’t just warning him about the water.

“Just be careful.” She turned and ran leaving John alone on the beach and this time she didn’t stop or look back.

John turned back toward the water looking out at it with suspicious eyes. He could almost feel the creature’s eyes on him and after that strange talk with Sarah the idea that the creature might actually be real had taken root. So he stood and watched feeling foolish as he tried to reassure himself that this was just a strange town. After a long moment where nothing happened but the waves crashing on the shore he turned and began a long walk back to the town unaware of the cold grey eyes that watched him walk away. 

 

The creature leaned out over the rocks he’d hidden behind as his human vanished out of sight. His human guise was gone and the creature left behind was like something from a fairytale, or a nightmare. His dark hair was plastered to his skin, the water weighing it down so it hung in his grey eyes. His features were sharp, made sharper by the dark scales that curled up from his neck and rested beneath his eyes. His lips were pulled back in a sneer just barely revealing teeth that were much too sharp to be human. He had a pale torso covered in splotches of scales in greys, blues, blacks, and purples, all of them dark and molted together to help him blend into the dark waters. His legs were gone, replaced by a strong tail with a forked caudal fin that flopped lazily in the water. His pectoral and pelvic fins rested against his sides but his dorsal fin was still flared from a territorial instinct that was still running strong in him. 

He’d nearly given himself away as he watched that human girl flutter around his human. His claws had dug into the stone and it took more strength than he’d expected to resist the territorial hiss that had built in his chest as he watched them. His fins had flared and the thin needle like spines that ran down his body had flared with them. The one good thing that watching them had provided him was his human’s name, John. He let the word resonate in his mind as he lowered himself down into the water. He repeated it in his head turning it over and over in his mind like a pearl diver who had found something rare and precious.

He swam until he came upon a small split in the rocks that made up the island. He squeezed himself into the split and using his claws for leverage he pushed himself from the narrow gap into a large cavern. Once free of the confining rock he twisted and curled in on himself stretching out his fins. The cavern felt smaller than usual and he huffed as a larger male siren swam out of the shadows. It hovered in front of him his coloring rust red and dusky orange instead of Sherlock’s purples and blues. His brown eyes narrowed. “You should have known better than to use that human to save you Sherlock. You’ve started playing a dangerous game. I left to take care of matters on the surface and while I was gone you’ve managed to get yourself in over your head, as the humans say, yet again. You always were a problem child it's no wonder the pod abandoned you and when I left them to take care of you all you end up doing is proving that I was a fool to save you from certain death.”

“Ah Mycroft back from stuffing yourself with cake I see. How many pounds have you gained from your little stint in office?” Sherlock said flaring his fins as he glared at the older siren his teeth bared and his voice drawn out into a hiss.

“You are quite fond of quoting humans for a siren who can’t stand them, besides it’s not like you don’t have your own little collection of humans. Your minions can be quite annoying, Lestrade is especially annoying when he puts his mind to it.” He snapped his spines beginning to stand on end as the other siren loomed over him.

Mycroft scoffed picking imaginary lint from the fabric of the human umbrella he carried around with him. “Don’t even bother with your territorial displays Sherlock, you can’t intimidate me.”

He swam past Sherlock circling his younger brother. “Going after my weight is lazy, even for you, are you feeling defensive Sherlock?” He said with a fake smile that would have unnerved a human.

He laughed at the anger on his brother’s face and suddenly whirled on him his voice suddenly cold and very dangerous. “There is a difference between collecting humans and letting a human collect you Sherlock. I never let them save me and I certainly would never attempt to forge a bond with them.” 

Sherlock crossed his arms over his chest sending himself back with a flick of his tail to put some distance between his brother and himself. “You're lecturing me about laziness when you brought up our pod and it's a wonder you can even see your tail fin. I never attempted anything.”

“No unfortunately you succeeded. You’ve managed to tie yourself to a human, a broken human at that.” Mycroft’s voice was mocking but there was an undercurrent of fury to it, fury that got stronger with every word. “You think you understand what you’ve done. I know you are fascinated by them but there are reasons all of our stories involving humans end in tragedy. It’s because all of our interactions with humans end in tragedy.”

Sherlock rolled his eyes. “Tragedy means nothing to a siren; we can’t feel the way humans do. We've got the rage and wrath of the ocean but none of the lesser emotions.”

“A siren that binds itself to a human can.” Mycroft’s tone was as informative as it was furious and the water around him seemed to grow icy as his anger grew even as his voice became frigid. “This isn’t just a story Sherlock everyone knows that the heart has a magic all its own. Humans are creatures of heart they’re slaves to their emotions. You’ve heard of the legends of sirens that suffered and died because they found themselves slaves to emotion. Our kind was never meant to have hearts Sherlock and you will put an end to this before it begins.”

“How?” Sherlock asked, though he had a good feeling he knew what Mycroft wanted him to do to his human, and the thought alone was already enough to make him distressed.

Mycroft showed off his pearly white fangs in the facsimile of a grin. “You know the stories, you know how they end.”

 

“John! I’m over here hop in! Mum was worried that you hadn’t come back yet, so she sent me out to find you!” Harry shouted as she lay on the horn drawing annoyed looks from everyone in hearing range. The ugly green car they’d had since before he could even remember was idling in the middle of the street blocking what little traffic there was. Harry was leaning out the window getting a lot of attention as she waved him over.

John walked over to and slid into the car grateful that he didn’t have to walk the entire way. “Well you found me.”

“Yeah, did you find anything interesting?” Harry said taking off before John even got the chance to buckle in. “Because so far this town is lamer than I thought it would be.” 

Harry rolled her eyes running one hand through the long hair on the unshaved side of her head. “No one here seems to know what a life is and they all looked at me like they’ve never seen a nose ring before. I didn’t see anything at all worth doing, there’s no mall, I couldn’t find a single party, and the most interesting thing I saw was a rundown cinema. You have any luck?”

“I passed out on the beach.” He licked his lips wondering whether or not to tell her about the creature. 

“Well you had your chance and you blew it.” Harry said with mock disappointment. “If Mum ever finds out that you passed out on the beach she is never letting you out of her sight again. I don’t have to tell her though as long as you don’t tell her that I’m sneaking out tomorrow night.” Harry said grinned over at him a wicked look in her eyes.

John rolled his eyes shaking his head at Harry’s antics. “I thought you said that there is nothing interesting here?”

“Nothing not no one. I might have met this hot girl named Clara at the bookstore and she might have asked me out on a date.” Harry’s voice was calm at first but her excitement bled through.

“And you’re not telling Mum because?” John trailed off at the end waiting for Harry to finish the sentence.

“She’s just gotten over being overprotective of you. She doesn’t need to worry besides it’s a date in the most boring town in existence. It’s not like anything could happen.” Harry said looking over at John like she was hoping that he would remain ignorant of something.

“You’re sneaking back to the mainland aren’t you?” He said after a minute a smirk lining his lips.

Harry laughed. “Alright you’ve caught me she’s got a boat. So promise you won’t tell?”

John sighed. “There’s no getting out of this is there? Fine. I won’t tell Mum about you and Clara on the love boat and you won’t tell her that I passed out.”

**Author's Note:**

> The title won't be changing, it decided to cement itself in the second chapter as well as the first so it's staying.


End file.
